Dads are supposed to mentor their sons. But when dads do it well, sons often become the guiding light for their dads.

That has certainly been the case with my boys. These days I learn as much from them as they do from me. My friend, Brandon, is enjoying a similar experience.

Brandon Steiner is a brilliant, successful entrepreneur. His New York-based Steiner Sports is the largest sports memorabilia company in the world.

In a recent blog, Brandon shared some words of wisdom from his son, Crosby. I asked Brandon if I might share some of “Coach Crosby’s” insightful son-to-father wisdom with my Savvy Dad readers.

Enjoy . . .

High School

Pick where you go to college for the “wrong” reasons. Sports, weather, social scene, etc. If those things are important to you now, they will still matter when you’re there.

Savor your fleeting moments. There are a lot of experiences you’ll have that you just won’t ever be able to recreate.

College

Freshman Year

Meeting people should be your number one priority.

Classes are easy…a lot easier than upper level classes. Set the bar high for your GPA.

Effectively manage your time. If you don’t go to class, your grade suffers. Period. But, just being in class doesn’t mean you’re going to learn (especially if you spend the entire time playing snake on your phone).

Sophomore Year

Write a resume: You might not think you have enough to put on there now, but you will. Use what you do have as a base to start with. Always ask someone to review it.

Recruiters have great memories: Go to career fairs, corporate events and presentations. They’ll be calling you when you do need an internship/job. Besides, you get free food.

Join a club. Become president of said club. Fill formerly empty resume.

Junior Year

The people you choose to spend the most time with will have the greatest effect on your happiness. Choose wisely, and don’t be afraid to re-evaluate who you’re hanging out with every so often

See the value in any experience: I passed up the chance to spend three months roaming around Europe so I could take an internship and add another line on my resume. I quickly learned the true value of those two options.

Senior Year

Enjoy yourself: Reap the rewards of your hard work by taking every opportunity to enjoy time with friends and family.

Go on a road trip: There is nothing more exciting than getting in a car and seeing the country. Stop anywhere and everywhere you can south of the mason dixon line for BBQ and/or Chik-fil-A.

Savor your fleeting moments. There are a lot of experiences you’ll have that you just won’t ever be able to recreate. (Sound familiar?).

Now

Get a job: Take the process seriously, but don’t get caught up in what opportunities your friends are getting. Run your own race.

Seize the moment: I once got a call from a buddy during class. He said he had a ticket to the Michigan-OSU basketball game in Columbus. Tip-off was in six hours and we were 200 miles away…it was a great game.

Final Thought

At an event for students in my five-year program, I had a conversation with the program’s benefactor and namesake, an extremely successful real estate developer. As he discussed his houses in Vail, Florida and New York, I exclaimed how exciting that must be. I’ll never forget his reply:

“Yeah, having houses across the globe gives my wife something to do, but it’s all B.S. I couldn’t care less about them. The only thing that matters in life is relationships with friends and family. That’s it.”

Dad Taught Me to Keep My Wits about Me…

The winningest active coach in college football history, Coach Beamer is clearly “the man” in that part of this land.

While some of his peers have struggled with controversy, Coach Beamer is an example of doing it right. He turns out winners in sports, winners in class, and winners with class. Thanks in part to Beamer’s leadership, Virginia Tech’s academic rankings and ethical reputation are among the best in the world.

Since 2011, Frank’s son Shane has been at his side as Associate Head Coach. Like his dad, Shane forged his career, first as an outstanding player, then as a coach.READ MORE

Learning to Do What You Say…

Sometimes others become like a dad in our life. It happened to Brandon with Alzie the cook.

Brandon Steiner is a best selling author, gifted speaker and head of New York-based Steiner Sports. He is also a big-hearted guy and wonderful friend.

In Brandon’s words:

“Aside from my mother, who taught me most of what I know about business, my most influential mentor was Alzie Jackson, the head chef at Camp Sussex in New Jersey, where I spent many summers – first as a camper, and then as an employee, in Alzie’s kitchen.

Brandon stirring the soup

Alzie might have taught me the most important lesson there is to learn in business: How to build trust. If you don’t have people’s trust, they’ll never want to work for you, or buy from you.

After a few years of working my way up the kitchen ladder, I was Alzie’s right-hand man one summer. I was responsible for making all the soups, and making sure dinner was served on time.READ MORE

Brandon Steiner is one of my multi-millionaire, check bouncing good buddies. His New York-based, Steiner Sports is the largest distributor of specialty sports memorabilia in the world. Brandon works with the big time athletes.

You wouldn’t hesitate to accept a measly $1500 check from a big hitter like Brandon, would you? Me neither.READ MORE